With Kevin Durant struggling, several players in foul trouble and Memphis once again controlling things inside, the Thunder somehow found themselves with a shot to tie or win in the end.

Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant (35) gets caught between Memphis' Marc Gasol (33), Zach Randolph (50) and Mike Conley (11) as he goes for the ball during Game 5 in the second round of the NBA playoffs between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. Memphis won 88-84. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

But Durant's 16-foot shot in the final seconds was off the mark and the Grizzlies held on for an 88-84 win in front of 18,203 at Chesapeake Energy Arena to take the series 4-1.

With the Thunder down 12 with three minutes left, plenty of fans streamed toward the exits.

But Reggie Jackson's 3-pointer with less than 20 seconds left pulled the Thunder within two and Zach Randolph's missed free throws on the other end gave OKC one more chance to pull off the win.

But Durant's shot in the final seconds — like so many of his others in the game — was off the mark and Memphis held on for the win.

“KD did a good job of getting open and catching the ball,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “He had a great look. That's the shot we wanted.”

As the teams shook hands following the final buzzer, the remaining fans kicked up the chant of “O-K-C” for one final time this season.

Durant had his worst shooting night of the season, going 5 of 21 from the floor and finishing with 21 points.

“I gave it all I had for my team,” Durant said. “I left it all out on the floor.”

Durant seemed to wear down in the second half of Game 4 and his struggles continued early in Game 5. He missed seven of his eight first-quarter shots and never found an offensive rhythm.

He played all 48 minutes, but neither Durant nor Brooks blamed the off night on Durant wearing down.

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Ryan Aber has worked for The Oklahoman since 2006, covering high schools, the Oklahoma City RedHawks, the Oklahoma City Barons and OU football recruiting. An Oklahoma City native, Aber graduated from Northeastern State. Before joining The...